White House to welcome Saudi prince
WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump plans to host Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammedbin Salman at the White House next week, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Monday.
Prince Salman attracted controversy in November when he orchestrated a purge of dozens of people, including sitting Cabinet members and a fellow prince. The move was seen as an effort to consolidate power. The regime portrayed the sweep as a crackdown on corruption and an effort to attract foreign investment and reduce the dependence on oil.
Ms. Sanders declined to say whether Mr. Trump would raise human rights issues with the heir to the throne.
The 32-year-old prince has a well-known friendship with Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, a key factor in Mr. Trump’s decision to make Saudi Arabia the first country he visited as president last year.
Chad ban may end
The Trump administration might remove Chad from the list of countries whose citizens face severe restrictions on visiting the United States, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Monday on the last day of his African tour. The decision could defuse the outrage and shock that followed the decision in September to include Chad on the travel restrictions list, which includes North Korea, Iran and Venezuela. Chad’s foreign minister called the country’s placement on the list “an injustice done to Chad.”
Mr. Tillerson said Chad had made efforts to strengthen its passport control and improve the sharing of information with the United States about potential terrorist threats.
Lightning hits church
A lightning bolt struck a Rwandan village church over the weekend, electrifying the congregation with a force that knocked most people to the ground.
Eleven people in the Gihemvu Seventh-day Adventist Church were instantly killed Saturday, said Habitegeko Francois, mayor of Gihemvu.
More than 140 congregants were rushed to a hospital to be treated for their injuries.
Mexico election
Mexican presidential candidate Ricardo Anaya, who’s polling in second place for the July vote, said that if elected he’ll do everything he can to ensure that incumbent Enrique Pena Nieto and members of his administration are investigated for corruption.
“We will have a full investigation into the corruption of the government, and we’ll take it to its ultimate consequences,” Anaya said in an interview in his campaign office in Mexico City. “The full political will, in this case of the president, will absolutely be used.”